Gulkand Gulab Jamuns

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Sweets.

I can’t and won’t live without it. It’s almost a necessity, especially this time of the year where the “Festival of Lights” is celebrated by lighting clay lamps to signify the triumphant of good against evil.

And the celebration doesn’t stop there.

Many of my best memories are during my childhood. We grew up into a joint family. An uncle and his family, plus ours all lived under one roof. Every year, Diwali brings back great memories of days leading up to Diwali celebrations.

Each and every one of us had a bunch of responsibilities. From literally scrubbing the house from top to bottom, to baking up a storm and shopping for new fineries — every task is distributed evenly to each member of the household.

And that my friend, is a HUGE PLUS of living in a joint family 😉

Mom and aunt would slave over hot kitchen stoves night after night baking delicious cookies and preparing a huge menu that leads up to the day of celebration. My sister being the eldest amongst all the children, evenly distribute tasks that needs to be completed before the big day.

From dusting, to cleaning and scrubbing every nook and crannie in the home — there were a ton to complete and we had more than enough hands to do it all.

Preparations aside, the best of all leading up to the day has to be having our friends over for food and celebration all day long. And during the night, that’s when we unwind from sore and tired muscles by lighting up a ton of oil lamps and firecrackers!

I seriously want to be a kid again just so I could rekindle all Diwali memories from my childhood 🙂

In the meantime, I’ll happily lit our home with a ton of oil lamps. Safely, of course.

In a saucepan, add water and sugar to make simple syrup. Heat the pan on medium. Stir until sugars completely dissolves and syrup gently simmers.

Cook it until syrup slightly begins to thicken. Keep syrup on the lowest heat setting on the stove so that it remains hot. Stir in cardamom pods, rose water and saffron threads.

In a medium bowl, sift milk powder, whole wheat pastry flour and pinch of salt. Add in thick coconut cream and mix everything until combined into a soft dough. You want a dough that is soft and moist. If it’s too dry, add in more coconut cream, but a teaspoon at a time.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using thin gloves, prepare gulkand by rolling the thick paste into small balls roughly the size of a pea. Make a whole bunch to chill and firm in the freezer.*

While oil heats, divide dough into equal portions, roughly the size of an average coin. It might be small, but while deep frying and soaking in simple syrup, the jamuns tend to expand.

Roll dough ball between palms. Apply a deep indentation with your thumb to add a frozen piece of gulkand. Gather the sides neatly and make sure to seal the dough so that the filling doesn’t leak out. At this point, you have to work fast in order to avoid melting the gulkand. Apply gentle pressure till the small dough balls are smoothly rounded. Make as many to keep ready for deep frying.

Dough balls should appear smooth and without cracks. If it’s too dry, add a little more coconut cream in the dough.

Make sure the oil is heating on low. Add a few dough balls at a time to avoid over-crowding.

Dough balls would be afloat after a few seconds of frying. Using a strainer, move around the dough balls to lightly brown and evenly cook on all sides.

If dough balls browned too quickly, the oil is too hot. Lower the heat and redo the rest of dough balls.

Remove jamuns to drain on paper towels for 5 minutes. Then transfer it into hot simple syrup to soak for an hour.

Continue frying all dough balls until done. Rotate soaked jamuns with jamuns that are awaiting to be soaked.

*Note: This step is important to easily stuff jamuns with sticky gooey gulkand by avoiding a huge mess.

Jamuns has to be one of our favorite Indian sweets. I have a simple recipe that you can find here with a few step-by-step photos, only this year, I wanted a twist. I dreamt indulging into morsels of stuffed jamuns with rose petal jam.

And I did what the Husband says I’m known for — immediately marching into the kitchen and making it happen! Altough the jamuns would be ever so slightly flattened due to the stuffing, it’ll still be melt-in-your-mouth decadence.

Have a safe and fun Diwali! Let’s overcome evil with the righteousness of divinity, but only attempt it with a fire extinguisher at your disposal. Safety has to come first.

What’s your memories of Diwali? Have you attended any Diwali celebration before?

Happy Diwali!
Diwali is by far my favorite hindu festival. It feels like Christmas with the lights and people in the markets and I can imagine how wonderful the experience can be in a joint family house. My favorite part is burning the narkasus =P
I always wanted to make gulab jamuns but I never had a reliable recipe. Thank you so much for sharing!Helene D’Souza recently posted..Spinach and Cottage Cheese gravy – Palak Paneer

Oh my! Now I know what you meant by soon when you said you are gonna indulge in some sweets soon. These gulab-jamuns looks decadent. And Diwali celebrations, I just came back after bursting a whole lot of crackers, the best part of this festival. 🙂Charul @ Tadka Masala recently posted..Punjabi Dum Aloo

I love learning about Diwali – what a wonderful, joyous festival it sounds like. I’m happy you have such beautiful childhood memories surrounding it and that you that you continue to celebrate it now. Happy Diwali! Your sweet treats look divine.Monica recently posted..Banana walnut cake

Happy Diwali Kiran! Those lights represent a little important part of a celebration I love… I am fascinated by these pictures and the recipe (I am in love with these sweets). I can feel there’s a story beyond your pics and that you enjoyed shooting them.Daniela @ FoodrecipesHQ recently posted..Italian Kale Stuffed Pizza

Oh Kiran, your work is such an inspiration! I haven’t eaten gulab jamun for years… not since I had my cooking school and a British born Indian chef came to cook for me. Delicious. And such divine shots!Lizzy (Good Things) recently posted..Blueberry Dutch baby pancake with white chocolate

Wow Kiran, I could envision every moment as I read this post, such beautiful memories although I wouldn’t want any of those tasks as a kid. 🙂 I certainly would enjoy the eating though. And I had no idea you are Punjabi, so am I. That’s great! Yes.. tuhanu Diwali diyan boht boht vadhaiyan.Honey What’s Cooking recently posted..Friday’s Favorite Things – 11.1.13

Happy Diwali! Really super recipe. I’ve had these in restaurants, but never made them. They’re so good! I gotta try these sometime – thanks for this.john@kitchenriffs recently posted..Winter Squash, Corn, and Bacon Chowder

Happy Diwali, Kiran! What wonderful memories and how fun it must have been to grow up in a house so full of people and love!!! 🙂 I’ve had this dessert at indian restaurants and it’s one of my faves…mmmm!

I’ve never seen a dessert like this but it looks amazing – pinning it! Love the photo of you in the dark behind the candles – just gorgeous and so artsy! 🙂Julia | JuliasAlbum.com recently posted..Pumpkin chili recipe

Wow such wonderful pictures.. are they with you new lens Kiran?! Awesome!
Yes wish I could also go back to good old childhood days.. I think its during these festivals that we miss it all the more.. The Jamuns looks delicious and my all time favoriteRekha recently posted..Cranberry, raisin and walnut loaf

Gorgeous post Kiran!!! Amazing photos… I love the fact that we get to see your beautiful face in there too! I love gulab jamun. I’ve never made them myself but they are a necessity whenever I go out to a good Indian restaurant (emphasis on GOOD restaurant, as I have had some really bad renditions of this dish in my time). Thanks for sharing this beautiful recipe. I’ve missed so much, life has been so busy recently! Just catching up on your amazing posts xxlaurasmess recently posted..Aaron {Appreciation Post}

Happy Diwali to you, Kiran! You look gorgeous – oh I love that picture of you with the candles!! I wish to try your gulab jamuns, looks delicious!Nami | Just One Cookbook recently posted..Lost and Found

Kiran, can you come live with me? Can I adopt you somehow, so I can learn firsthand how to make all these amazing treats? Gulab jamun is the death of me, definitely on my list of things I could eat everyday without fatigue. Yours look beautiful and the moody photographs are brilliant.Yasmeen | Wandering Spice recently posted..Auntie Nuha’s Sayadiyeh: Saffron Fish and Rice with Tahini and Toasted Nuts

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